jvmacross

I have not transformed it into battroid or gerwalk. However, the tabs do not hold the legs/arms in place....same for the tail wing tabs.....with that said..."swooshability" is poor to none in fighter mode.....you can do it...but you will need to hold it together with your hand.... Since these specific tabs do not play much of a role when transformed in battroid....I would think that battroid might provide a better "play" option for the VF-2SS....and to a lesser extent, gerwalk mode..... I'll tinker with it later and post some more pics.... Oh...and comparing the durability of the VF-2SS to a Chunky Monkey would be like comparing a mudhut to a concrete bunker....but to be fair, nothing compares to the durability of a chunky monkey...not Yamato, Arcadia, or the recent Bandai stuff....IMO toys built like the original 1/55 can never exist again...

And some pics of the VF-2SS on display.....

Ok...so I received it this morning....first impressions..... The box graphics are really nice...classy and clean on all sides....box is also not too big...but as soon as it took it out of the shipping box I could feel how "light" it was.....diecast? About as much as an HMR.....if not less.... The pilot is painted well-enough... The cockpit has some nice detailing.... About the plastic....well....too all you old-schoolers...think Joons....'nuff said.... About the fit.....really poor.....think Yamato VB-6 at best.....I can only speak of the fit in terms of fighter mode as I have not transformed it into gerwalk or battroid... Other things that will eventually become problematic.....the small caps that fit onto the screws on the tail wings are made of pvc...I'm pretty sure they will yellow....the landing gear almost seems to be made of a different type of plastic as well and may yellow too in time.... Finally......habemos pinkish white plasticus!!! Yes, under certain light...it is very obvious....I don't think my phone's cam captured it...but your naked eye will... My favorite mode for all VFs is fighter mode...I also only display my VFs in dioramas.....so I can "live" with the issues on ET's -2SS since it will live on my displays in fighter mode forever.....it can do the job I need it to do well enough....basically looking cool on a flight deck or hangar display... I agree, with some lining and perhaps appying some of the included decals...this can be made to look much better... In conclusion, I have no regrets on purchasing ET's VF-2SS.....it displays well in fighter mode....and more importantly, we finally have a 1/60 VF-2SS.....like the source material itself, Macross II, you either love it or leave it, but it's still Macross! Some pics... The caps were tricky to install....don't lose them...they only packed one for each tail wing.... This is the "straightest" I could get it....mind you...it is being held in this position by the pressure of my hand....the locking tabs are very weak and loose fitting.... the tabs that are used to "lock" the arms to the legs are practically useless...the legs slip out easily..perhaps adding something to the tab to make it tighter would help...or even replacing it with an improvised shapeways part.... Also note the (dis) coloring of the landing "gear".... The tail wing tabs are even more useless than the arm tabs...I could not get them to lock"...in fact they do not seem to be able to lock at all.... Again....discoloration in the landing "gear".... more landing "gear" discoloration.... These just will not "lock" in place..... Cockpit cover was difficult to open...had to use the tip of an exacto blade....but once opened you are rewarded with some detailing.....

The question now is whether or not you want Evolution Toys to develop and release the VF-2J, VA-1SS, etc. If so, you'll need to support the current release of their VF-2SS....if not, hope someone else gives it a shot.

In total agreement with this sentiment.....I stopped "supporting" Arcadia via double-dipping after their initial VF-1 releases of the -1S Roy and Hikaru.....give me something you've never done before and I'll buy from you again Arcadia....VF-5000, TV SDF-1, VF-9, VF-14, VA-3.....ok, PWS-0X counts...but it's kinda like cheating.....so I'm having to get yet another VF-0S since the old one will not fit into it....basterds!

I am hoping enough initial buyers are able to forgive the faults of this VF-2SS to follow through with purchases for the rest of the already announced line-up. If we can get past the VF-2SS "hump"....I think ET may have an easier time with the development of the VF-2J Icarus....assuming they do the Icarus next. The transformation of the Icarus is not as "exotic" as that of the VF-2SS...it is more inline with that of the original VF-1....so even if they were to go full-on 80's swingbar technology...it still would look much better than the transformation mechanism they opted for the VF-2SS... I definitely want a VF-2J so I'm still all in on the rest of the VF-2SS line, warts and all....looking forward to the SAP versions next!

OK....let's not exaggerate....well, maybe just a little...

Then the added complaint would have been that they chipped upon the first transformation...

Photoshop? But really....someone should post a pic with the "diecast" photoshop'd out....to see what it could have looked like Seems there should be a way to recess those parts and then be able to cover them up with panels...like Yamato did with the VF-4 legs....

Nice work there... I think it points out the biggest issue with the sculpt...the legs....they seem too short...or perhaps the torso section is too big.... It would have looked better in both battroid and fighter mode if the upper leg section would have been longer and a bit bulkier.... As your animated pic shows....seems top view for fighter mode is going to be the best for display purposes.....so a good stand will go a long way for the VF-2SS...or sitting on a flight deck diorama display

LOL....well, Toynami delivered what some considered decent packaging...but the toy was nowhere near line art accurate and was more of a "copy" of an old school design..... Seems the same may apply to this ET VF-2SS.... Who knows if we'll ever see any other company take a shot at this in 1/60.....for now it's the only game in town.... It's definitely an unexpected quirky addition to anyone's VF stable...it may end up just a curiosity, like the Yamato VB-6 (until Bandai released their version...so history may repeat itself?)

I think that is an older post....

"vs"?

Maybe ET is giving a nod to the best boxart Yamato ever made.....

Great box cover.

I'm hoping for a bundled edition besides the stand alone armor. Maybe an Arcadia web exclusive?

Just binged watched this on Netflix over the weekend.....great show....will binge watch season 2 when it makes it onto Netflix....

Apparently, ET feels confident enough on pre-sales that they have actually moved ahead with releasing more entries to this line....those deciding not to purchase it due to perceiving it as "over-priced trash" are irrelevant to ET in Japan and especially outside of Japan....since this is a niche within a niche, I would think the number of sales required to turn a profit would be quite low....thus the price point. Unfortunately, for those that have uncompromising standards for their toys, whether in build-quality, line-art accuracy, or both.....these ET VF-2SS's have one thing going for them that is superceding the usual expectations and perhaps even the desire from ET to "do better".....they are the only game in town for a 1/60-ish VF-2SS.... For those that think this is junk....you'll have to wait for something better....for everyone who is just happy to finally be getting any VF-2SS DX toy after so many years.....the wait is almost over!

Not sure how folks can say that this toy does not "command" the asking price.....the fact that we are now three into this line, when the initial concern was that we would never get past the first release, would seem to contradict this belief....thankfully for everyone wanting this line to succeed, the target market seems to be all in on the Macross II line so far....all I can do is hope the Japanese collectors continue to support the line so I can get an Icarus and Metal Siren!

Based on Arcadia's past record on paint choices.... All future VF-1 releases will be done in chrome.... Toynami-style!

Yep....Bandai is doing the same thing....basically going with awesome illustrated boxart for the HMR line.....and they may be going the "diorama" boxart with the upcoming Monster, which was also employed for their original Hi-Metal releases of the mid-80's.... Actually, this whole retro packaging revival started with the Orguss Hi-Spec release from Mega House last year or so.... Note the box styling, colors and fonts from the original Takatoku release.... As a collector of old-school Macross....I really appreciate the added effort on packaging being done for some of these releases

Nice...the colors selected for the front and back of the box are a very obvious nod to the old school Takatoku boxes... Still want a 1/3000....but I guess stubby legs will do for now...